MEET (some of) OUR STAFF

...these men in blue shirts...making music a reality for you...

Bryan Rankins

Our Sales Manager Bryan came to work for us in 2000, after being in the automotive world for about 18 years. He plays several instruments, some much better than others. He starting playing when he was very young with the help of his pastor, James Curtis, and his older brother Dan. He was fortunate to play with some very talented individuals throughout the years and learned a great deal from them. He continues to play primarily Bluegrass and Southern Gospel for various people and churches. Bryan’s talents don’t end with playing though. If you’re looking for something extremely special when it comes to tonewoods, he is your man. He has a way of finding just the right combinations of woods to please anyone’s palette. You can see him on the Taylor website discussing and playing the new GS, and in several of the “Wood & Steel” newsletters they put out. Bob Taylor’s comment when he saw Bryan playing an R. Taylor was “Man, he get’s everything out of a guitar that I build in them”. Quite a statement, but we agree. Please feel free to come by the store or give him a call. Bryan handles several of our high end acoustic lines and all of our string, video, and book orders.

James Gast

Our Store Manager, James Gast, has been with Fazio’s since 97. He has been playing guitar from the ripe old age of 3, and he’s gotten pretty good at it. Prior to coming to work here, James moved to Los Angeles and got his degree as an Audio/Video Engineer. After moving back to St. Louis, he opened his own studio, Prism, recording music and radio commercials. He then went to work for Sable Productions as Chief Engineer working on numerous tv shows and commercials for networks like Fox Sports. He has played guitar in several bands, most notably the group “My 2 Planets”, where he released 2 albums nationally and sold 7 songs to MTV for the “Real World” and “Road Rules” shows. James handles the day to day operations of the store, and does just about all of our product ordering. You’ll recognize him as the one who is running very fast from one place to the other. Too much caffeine we presume. He also handles all of our sound and lighting installs. A very knowledgeable guy in several areas and is our go to guy for recording and sound reinforcement.

Brian Vaccaro

Brian Vaccaro graduated from Webster University in St. Louis in 1996 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music with an emphasis in Jazz Studies. He continued his education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville where he earned a Master's Degree in Music in Jazz Guitar Performance in 2000. Outside of his education, Brian has been active as an educator as well as a performer. He has taught a variety of jazz and general music courses at Southwestern Illinois College, St. Louis Community College, and St. Charles Community College such as Jazz History, Jazz Ensemble, Rock History, and numerous others. He has also performed and recorded with many of the top jazz musicians in the St. Louis area. Brian currently oversees the music education department at Fazio's Frets & Friends which includes roughly thirty instructors, individual and group lessons, a regular schedule of visiting artist workshops (including artists such as Larry Coryell, Tuck Andress, Johnny Hiland, Greg Koch, and Ernie Isley to name a few). In 2007, the music education department at Fazio’s will unveil their own guitar curriculum which was compiled and edited by Brian along with Drew Andrews of Mel Bay Publications who will publish this series of books.

Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson started with us in the spring of 2002 as a private instructor, but soon made his way on to our staff helping us with sales as well as repair. Dave has been teaching privately and working in music retail since 1992, and has played pofessionally since the age of 15. He played in the band Cation Horse, touring regionally and sharing bills with bands such as Wilco, Blue Mountain, and the old 97's. In 1998, Dave took an apprenticeship building guitars with Moll Custom Instruments. While at Moll, he gained experience building archtop, flat top, and electric guitars, and even worked on the development of the John Pizzarelli signature model. Dave currently works on the sales floor specializing in electric guitars, pick-ups, and amps, as well as acoustic guitars and repair. When not at fazios he plays lead guitar and pedal steel in the band Cumberland Gap and guitar and steel in the local original band Tenement Ruth. Check out Dave on his band's websites:

www.cumberlandgapband.com
www.myspace.com/cumberlandgap
www.tenementruth.com
www.myspace.com/tenementruth

Jeff Cooley

Jeff has been a long time fixture at our store. He bought his first guitar from Fazio’s in 1981, and has been a faithful customer ever since. He started working at the store in 1996 in sales, and continues to work part-time for us. Jeff is the kind of guy who you want to have as part of your team. He’s always on time, and always genuinely concerned about getting the customer exactly what they need. When you stop in, say Hi, he’ll take great care of you.

Dan Kuse

Dan Kuse is the newest member of the Fazio team, but is a veteran of the music sales business. Following a 25-year sales and management stint at another well-known music retailer, Dan made the three hour move in fall 2009 to St. Louis to join up with his friend Mike Fazio. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge with him. Guitars are this devestatingly handsome band man's speciality, and he is an ace with pro-sound in live and church applications. He even knows drums, although he'll deny it if you ask! A Missouri native, Dan is a featured entertainer in the Lake of the Ozarks area, and has opened shows for artists as diverse as REO Speedwagon, Charlie Daniels, Air Supply and everything in between. His band website is: www.dankuse.com